Cider Noob question

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MVKTR2

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I've got a 4 gallon batch of cider consisting of:
4 gallons apple cider (white house brand)
1 can apple rasberry juice concentrate (old orchard brand)
1 can apple cherry juice concentrate (old orchard brand)
yeast cake from a wheat beer using Danstar Munich yeast

It's been 17 days since I mixed this up. Checked it today as I'm fairly certain fermentation is over, it looked over at 8 days(big yeast cake after all). The hydro sample was at 1.004 which may be all I get from this yeast. The flavor was clean with hints of clove and fruit with a tart finish, overall quite pleased but fairly bland.

What I need to know is what to do next? I've set it in my garage as we're in the midst of a cold snap hoping the cooling will help the rest of the yeast to drop (the brew was already down to 50 degrees after just a few hours.

My thinking is this:
Transfer to a secondary in a couple days before the cold weather ends.
Stabilize with potassium metabisulfite/camden tabs.
Back sweeten with apple juice concentrate, maybe apple-rasberry.
Tweak it with acid blend? Is this a good thing (I bought some just in case I need it).
Bottle still.
Age for 6 weeks, enjoy?

OR
How would I treat it using potassium metabisulfite vs not using it, I know I can't back sweeten without killing the yeast. I enjoy the sparkling meads and fruit meads I've made in the past so I'm interested in carbonating this effort. I don't know how to treat it to get a better flavor from it, help?

Thanks for the help,
Phillip
 
I wish I could help more, but I've never used chems to stabilize or acid blends to provide flavors. People do use them all the time, so hopefully this bump will help get a better response. I'm pretty sure that potassium metabisulfite isn't going to help you with making the cider "still". You'll need something like potassium sorbate to inhibit growth from that brewers yeast. (make it still and preserve it)

I'd be willing to bet that the flavors will come back on their own in time, but I know thats not what you want to hear nor take the chance to roll the dice and gamble. The fun part of making cider is trying new things and going with the flow until you find a process that works consistently.
 
If you want sweet sparkling cider in a bottle, you have to pasteurize. Read the sticky if you haven't. If you want sweet still cider, then use potassium sorbate and campden tabs, and bottle.
 
Regarding flavor, time brings back the flavor. What flavor are you looking for? Sweetness? Tartness? Both? Apple? Spice? More information will reworked more responses.
 
I'm fine with it being still, carbed, sweet, dry, it just doesn't matter. I know/can read how to kill the yeast and back sweeten etc, that's not so much my issue. I'm a rather experienced beer brewer and have several batches of mead under my belt, just new to making cider. I got a good clean ferment and am happy with the current results.

I'll be checking the gravity again tomorrow and if it is stable will be moving it to a secondary to clear/age for about 6 weeks. After that I'll probably bottle half still, and half carbonated.

What I want to know is how to bring out the flavor/how to use the acid blend versus if I should do anything but age it a bit, bottle, then age and drink. Patience isn't a problem, I've got homebrew that's working on it's 4th year, mead in it's 4th year, and commercial beer from 2007. I love aging stuff!
 
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